Outcomes and impact of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair versus open inguinal hernia repair on healthcare spending and employee absenteeism.

BACKGROUND: This study compares the impact of open (OIHR) versus laparoscopic (LIHR) inguinal hernia repair on healthcare spending and postoperative outcomes. METHODS: The TRUVEN database was queried using ICD9 procedure codes for open, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted IHR, from 2012 to 2013. Patients > 18 years of age and continuously enrolled for 12 months postoperatively were included. Demographics, patient comorbidities, postoperative complications, pain medication use, length of hospital stay, missed work hours, postoperative visits, and overall expenditure were collected, and assessed at time of surgery and at 30-, 60-, 90-, 180-, and 365-days postoperatively. Statistical analysis was conducted using SAS, with α = 0.05. RESULTS: 66,116 patients were included (LIHR: N = 23,010; OIHR: N = 43,106). Robotic-assisted procedures were excluded due to small sample size (N = 61). The largest demographic was males between 55 and 64 years. LIHR had fewer surgical wound complications than OIHR (LIHR: 0.3%; OIHR: 0.5%, p = 0.007), less utilization of pain medication (LIHR: 23.3%; OIHR: 28.5%; p < 0.001), and fewer outpatient visits. In the 90-day postoperative period, LIHR had significantly fewer missed work hours (LIHR: 12.1 ± 23.2 h; OIHR: 12.9 ± 26.7 h, p = 0.023). LIHR had higher postoperative urinary complications (LIHR: 0.2%; OIHR: 0.1%; p < 0.001), consistent with the current literature. LIHR expenditures ($15,030 ± $25,906) were higher than OIHR ($13,303 ± 32,014), p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the benefits of laparoscopic repair with regard to surgical wound complications, postoperative pain, outpatient visits, and missed work hours. These improved outcomes with respect to overall healthcare spending and employee absenteeism support the paradigm shift toward laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs, in spite of higher overall expenditures.

Telesurgery With Miniature Robots to Leverage Surgical Expertise in Distributed Expeditionary Environments.

This study aimed to evaluate the capability of performing telesurgery via radio transmission for military arenas where wired internet connections may not be practical. Most existing robotic surgery systems are too large to effectively deploy with first responders. The miniature surgical platform in this study consists of a multifunctional robot suite that can fit easily into a briefcase. METHODS: The focus of this study is to explore the implications of radio control of the robot. The hypothesis is that an in vivo robot and its control boards can be controlled using off-the-shelf wireless components. An experiment was designed with off-the-shelf wireless components to test the capability of our newest generation of miniature surgical robot to become battery-operated and wireless. RESULTS: Wireless transmission of control signals has provided proof of concept and has exposed areas of the software that can be built upon to improve responsiveness. Wireless transmission of the video feed can be adequately performed with basic off-the-shelf components.

Forecasting the Spread of Mosquito-Borne Disease using Publicly Accessible Data: A Case Study in Chikungunya.

Mosquito-borne diseases account for multiple public health challenges in our modern world. The international health community has seen a number of mosquito-borne diseases come to the forefront in recent years, including West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, and currently, Zika virus. Predicting the spread of mosquito-borne disease can aid early decision support for when and how to employ public health interventions within a community; however, accurate and fast predictions, months into the future, are difficult to achieve in urgent scenarios, particularly when little information is known about infection rates. New sources of information including social media have been proposed to accelerate the development of predictive models of disease progression. In this research, we adapted a previously described model for the spread of mosquito-borne disease using open intelligence sources. The novel implementation of a mixed-model for mosquito-borne disease was capable of being executed in minimal runtime. The results indicate that this model yields fast and relevant results with acceptable margins of error.

Consumer Opinions of Health Information Exchange, e-Prescribing, and Personal Health Records.

BACKGROUND: Consumer satisfaction is a crucial component of health information technology (HIT) utilization, as high satisfaction is expected to increase HIT utilization among providers and to allow consumers to become full participants in their own healthcare management. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this pilot study was to identify consumer perspectives on health information technologies including health information exchange (HIE), e-prescribing (e-Rx), and personal health records (PHRs). METHODS: Eight focus groups were conducted in seven towns and cities across Nebraska in 2013. Each group consisted of 10-12 participants. Discussions were organized topically in the following categories: HIE, e-Rx, and PHR. The qualitative analysis consisted of immersion and crystallization to develop a coding scheme that included both preconceived and emergent themes. Common themes across focus groups were identified and compiled for each discussion category. RESULTS: The study had 67 participants, of which 18 (27 percent) were male. Focus group findings revealed both perceived barriers and benefits to the adoption of HIT. Common HIT concerns expressed across focus groups included privacy and security of medical information, decreases in quality of care, inconsistent provider participation, and the potential cost of implementation. Positive expectations regarding HIT included better accuracy and completeness of information, and improved communication and coordination between healthcare providers. Improvements in patient care were expected as a result of easy physician access to consolidated information across providers as well as the speed of sharing and availability of information in an emergency. In addition, participants were optimistic about patient empowerment and convenient access to and control of personal health data. CONCLUSION: Consumer concerns focused on privacy and security of the health information, as well as the cost of implementing the technologies and the possibility of an unintended negative impact on the quality of care. While negative perceptions present barriers for potential patient acceptance, benefits such as speed and convenience, patient oversight of health data, and safety improvements may counterbalance these concerns.

Health care provider perceptions of a query-based health information exchange: barriers and benefits.

BACKGROUND: Health information exchange (HIE) systems are implemented nationwide to integrate health information and facilitate communication among providers. The Nebraska Health Information Initiative is a state-wide HIE launched in 2009. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of health care providers' perspectives on a query-based HIE, including barriers to adoption and important functionality for continued utilization. METHODS: We surveyed 5618 Nebraska health care providers in 2013. Reminder letters were sent 30 days after the initial mailing. RESULTS: A total of 615 questionnaires (11%) were completed. Of the 100 current users, 63 (63%) indicated satisfaction with HIE. The most common reasons for adoption among current or previous users of an HIE (N = 198) were improvement in patient care (N = 111, 56%) as well as receiving (N = 95, 48%) and sending information (N = 80, 40%) in the referral network. Cost (N = 233, 38%) and loss of productivity (N = 220, 36%) were indicated as the 'major barriers' to adoption by all respondents. Accessing a comprehensive patient medication list was identified as the most important feature of the HIE (N = 422, 69%). CONCLUSIONS: The cost of HIE access and workflow integration are significant concerns of health care providers. Additional resources to assist practices plan the integration of the HIE into a sustainable workflow may be required before widespread adoption occurs. The clinical information sought by providers must also be readily available for continued utilization. Query-based HIEs must ensure that medication history, laboratory results and other desired clinical information be present, or long-term utilization of the HIE is unlikely.

Disparities in the receipt of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: between-hospital and within-hospital analysis using 2009-2011 California inpatient data.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the rapid proliferation of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), little attention has been paid to patient utilisation of this newest surgical innovation and barriers that may result in disparities in access to RARP. The goal of this study is to identify demographic and economic factors that decrease the likelihood of patients with prostate cancer (PC) receiving RARP. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective, pooled, cross-sectional study was conducted using 2009-2011 California State Inpatient Data and American Hospital Association data. Patients who were diagnosed with PC and underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) from 225 hospitals in California were identified, using ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure codes. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients' likelihood of receiving RARP was associated with patient and hospital characteristics using the two models: (1) between-hospital and (2) within-hospital models. Multivariate binomial logistic regression was used for both models. The first model predicted patient access to RARP-performing hospitals versus non-RARP-performing hospitals, after adjusting for patient and hospital-level covariates (between-hospital variation). The second model examined the likelihood of patients receiving RARP within RARP-performing hospitals (within-hospital variation). RESULTS: Among 20,411 patients who received RP, 13,750 (67.4%) received RARP, while 6661 (32.6%) received non-RARP. This study found significant differences in access to RARP-performing hospitals when race/ethnicity, income and insurance status were compared, after controlling for selected confounding factors (all p<0.001). For example, Hispanic, Medicare and Medicaid patients were more likely to be treated at non-RARP-performing hospitals versus RARP-performing hospitals. Within RARP-performing hospitals, Medicaid patients had 58% lower odds of receiving RARP versus non-RARP (adjusted OR 0.42, p<0.001). However, there were no significant differences by race/ethnicity or income within RARP-performing hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences exist by race/ethnicity and payer status in accessing RARP-performing hospitals. Furthermore, payer status continues to be an important predictor of receiving RARP within RARP-performing hospitals.

From physician intent to the pharmacy label: prevalence and description of discrepancies from a cross-sectional evaluation of electronic prescriptions.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of unintended discrepancies between three sources of prescription information and to describe the types of electronic prescribing system vulnerabilities identified. METHODS: Staff from community pharmacies identified approximately 200 new prescriptions written at three participating ambulatory care clinics (2 adult, 1 paediatric). Unintended discrepancies were identified by comparing three sources of prescription information: (1) the prescriber's note as documented in the patient's chart; (2) the electronic prescription (e-prescription) entered into the clinic's electronic prescribing software; (3) the medication that was ultimately dispensed by the pharmacy as indicated on the prescription label. The discrepancy rate was calculated by dividing the number of discrepancies identified by the number of prescriptions evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 602 prescriptions written by 33 prescribers were evaluated from the 3 ambulatory care clinics. The discrepancy rate between the prescriber's note and the e-prescription was 1.7%, 0.6% and 3.9% for the three clinics. The discrepancy rate between the e-prescription (clinic) and the prescription label (pharmacy) was 4.2%, 0.9% and 1.5%. Differences between directions for administration was the most common type of discrepancy identified. CONCLUSIONS: Discrepancy rates between the prescriber's note and the e-prescription were similar to the discrepancy rates between the e-prescription and pharmacy label. To reduce outpatient medication errors, a better understanding is needed of the sources of discrepancies that occur within the prescriber's clinic, and those that occur between the clinic and pharmacy.

Barriers to electronic prescribing: Nebraska pharmacists' perspective.

PURPOSE: Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) and its accompanying clinical decision support capabilities have been promoted as means for reducing medication errors and improving efficiency. The objectives of this study were to identify the barriers to adoption of e-prescribing among nonparticipating Nebraska pharmacies and to describe how the lack of pharmacy participation impacts the ability of physicians to meet meaningful use criteria. METHODS: We interviewed pharmacists and/or managers from nonparticipating pharmacies to determine barriers to the adoption of e-prescribing. We used open-ended questions and a structured questionnaire to capture participants' responses. FINDINGS: Of the 23 participants, 10 (43%) reported plans to implement e-prescribing sometime in the future but delayed participation due to transaction fees and maintenance costs, as well as lack of demand from customers and prescribers to implement e-prescribing. Nine participants (39%) reported no intention to e-prescribe in the future, citing start-up costs for implementing e-prescribing, transaction fees and maintenance costs, happiness with the current system, and lack of understanding about e-prescribing's benefits and how to implement e-prescribing. CONCLUSIONS: The barriers to e-prescribing identified by both late adopters and those not willing to accept e-prescriptions were similar and were mainly initial costs and transaction fees associated with each new prescription. For some rural pharmacies, not participating in e-prescribing may be a rational business decision. To increase participation, waiving or reimbursing transaction fees, based on demographic or financial characteristics of the pharmacy, may be warranted.